Commentary

You Got MediaPost In My March Madness (But Not For Very Long)

"You got peanut butter in my chocolate."

H.B. Reese's decision to put peanut butter inside chocolate more than a century ago was perhaps one of the greatest consumer marketing innovations of all time, and now there is a B2B marketing stunt mashing ad tech up with the NCAA's "March Madness" college hoops tournament. Sort of.

Late last week, ad tech marketing consultant (and former MediaPost marketing czar) Rob McEvily launched "AdTech March Madness" -- an AI-generated version of the college basketball playoffs featuring ad-tech industry companies and their star "players" -- on LinkedIn, and it has been blowing up within the B2B sector.

Somehow, Team MediaPost -- including a virtual version of this writer -- made it into these unusual playoffs and we actually won the first heat (against Smart Cookies), although we lost our second round (60 to 88) against Nexxen.

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While the lineups and categorizations were curated humanly by McEvily, the outcomes were all AI, thanks to some expert prompts from McEvily, who used ChatGPT to determine how various ad tech (and at least one trade publisher) would fare in a virtual "March Madness" competition based on key staffers.

McEvily says that while the AI application was done seriously and as scientifically as he could muster it, the goal of the tournament was to have fun and draw attention -- and a bit of LinkedIn virality -- to the industry.

Asked how what criteria ChatGPT used to determine the outcome of the basketball-less competition, McEvily provided the chatbot's response here:

The team rankings within each conference were based on a combination of the following factors:

1. Company Size & Market Cap 

  • Larger companies with higher revenues, valuations, and market influence were ranked higher.
  • For example, Alphabet (Google), Meta, and Amazon Advertising naturally took top spots in the Global Giants Conference due to their dominant positions in digital advertising.

2. Industry Impact & Innovation 

  • Companies leading in technological advancements, acquisitions, and disruptive innovation were ranked higher.
  • Example: The Trade Desk ranked highly in Programmatic Powerhouses because of its industry-leading demand-side platform (DSP).

3. Brand Recognition & Influence 

  • Companies with strong brand authority and presence in ad tech media, conferences, and thought leadership earned higher seeds.
  • Example: Mediaocean and Criteo were ranked as major players in Programmatic Powerhouses due to their long-standing industry presence.

4. Market Momentum & Growth 

  • Emerging companies that have seen recent growth, IPOs, or funding rounds were ranked higher in Emerging Innovators and Specialized Solutions Conferences.
  • Example: VidMob replaced Bidtellect due to its rapid expansion in AI-powered creative optimization.

5. Competitive Positioning & Niche Strength 

  • Specialized companies were ranked based on their dominance within their specific ad tech vertical (e.g., verification, data management, or CTV advertising).
  • Example: Integral Ad Science (IAS) and DoubleVerify were top-seeded in Specialized Solutions Conference due to their stronghold in ad verification.

Final Adjustments & Bracket Balance 

  • Ensured that each conference had a mix of legacy players, innovators, and disruptors, making for compelling matchups in later rounds.

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About the Author

Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.